Watch Britti at the Paste Magazine East Austin Block Party Presented by Ilegal Mezcal
A/V by Brad Wagner, Juan Soria and Masaya Tamegai
Britti joined us at Coral Snake Austin as the first act on our final day of the East Austin Block Party last March, lighting the whole room with her smile. Sporting a rose embroidered top and matching red cowboy boots, she sat with us in our Paste Recording Sessions (accompanied by her guitarist Jozef Teeuwse to play three songs from her debut record Hello, I’m Britti., released in February via Easy Eye Sound and produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.
This was Britti’s second day in Austin, playing for us before going on to a show with The Black Keys and Paste Session alums Shannon And The Clams at Stubbs that same evening.
Full Session
For her first song, she played “So Tired.” Britti shared that once she was discovered by Arbauech, they hit it off creatively from the get-go.
So Tired
When asked about her process writing with him in Nashville versus her hometown of New Orleans, Britti shared that she feels that NOLA is such a part of who she is that wherever she goes she takes some of it with her. Listening to her it is easy to see why she caught Auerbach’s eye—her voice needs to be heard to be believed with a trilling vocal vibrato that feels almost superhuman.
For her second song, she played “Lullaby”.
Lullaby
Britti played “Lullaby” acoustically, a version of the song that is unavailable on the album. She shared that the record is very “genre-fluid.” “It’s a big gumbo pot—it’s a little bit of everything.” Growing up she listened to a lot of different music, ranging from D’Angelo and Erykah Badu on Vh1 to Reba and Dolly Parton, all the way up to MCR and Good Charlotte. “I couldn’t help but mix everything together,” she said of her inspirations, further sharing that the process with Dan involved less seeking one specific sound and more following their spirit and letting things play out naturally. For her last song, Britti sang “Keep Running.”
Keep Running
Britti’s vocal control defies reason as she sails through notes effortlessly, with a trill that both shows her country music inspiration and demonstrates her vocalism brilliantly. Closing out her session with us, Britti left her mark on the whole room and left us hungry for more, a perfect start to our last day of sessions.
Thank you to Britti, Coral Snake Austin, and our friends at Ilegal Mezcal who help us put together these incredible East Austin Block Parties. Come back next week for more of our Paste Recording Session coverage!